With the many continued advancements in communications technology, more and more devices are being introduced in both the consumer and commercial sectors with advanced communications capabilities. Additionally, advances in processing power and low-power consumption technologies, as well as advances in data coding techniques have led to the proliferation of wired and wireless communications capabilities on a more widespread basis.
For example, communication networks, both wired and wireless, are now commonplace in many home and office environments. Such networks allow various heretofore independent devices to share data and other information to enhance productivity or simply to improve their convenience to the user. One such communication network that is gaining widespread popularity is an exemplary implementation of a wireless network such as that specified by the WiMedia-MBOA (Multiband OFDM Alliance). Other exemplary networks include the Bluetooth® communications network and various IEEE standards-based networks such as 802.11 and 802.16 communications networks, to name a few.
Architects of these and other networks, and indeed communications channels in general, have long struggled with the challenge of managing multiple communications across a limited channel. For example, in some environments, more than one device may share a common carrier channel and thus run the risk of encountering a communication conflict between the one or more devices on the channel.
Over the years, network architects have come up with various solutions to arbitrate disputes or otherwise delegate bandwidth among the various communicating devices, or clients, on the network. Schemes used in well known network configurations such as token rings, Ethernet, and other configurations have been developed to allow sharing of the available bandwidth. In addition to these schemes, other techniques have been employed, including for example CDMA (code division multiple access) and TDMA (time division multiple access) for cellular networks.
FDM (Frequency Division Multiplexing) is another technology that enables multiple devices to transmit their signals simultaneously over a communication channel in a wired or wireless setting. The devices' respective signals travel within their designated frequency band (carrier), onto which the data (text, voice, video, or other data.) is modulated. With adequate separation in frequency band spacing, multiple devices can simultaneously communicate across the same communication channel (network or point-to-point).
Orthogonal FDM (OFDM) spread spectrum systems distribute the data over a plurality of carriers that are spaced apart at precise frequencies. The spacing is chosen so as to provide orthogonality among the carriers. Thus, a receiver's demodulator recovers the modulated data with little interference from the other carrier signals. The benefits of OFDM are high spectral efficiency, resiliency to RF interference, and lower multi-path distortion or inter symbol interference (ISI). OFDM systems can be combined with other techniques (such as time-division multiplexing) to allow sharing of the individual carriers by multiple devices as well, thus adding another dimension of multiplexing capability.
However, even with various multiplexing schemes available to network and other communication channel designers, there can still be inefficiencies in bandwidth allocation due to factors such as fragmentation. Fragmentation can occur, for example, where short durations of network bandwidth are separated by unavailable network time slots, making it difficult for a communication process to properly allocate its communication packets in an efficient manner. As users come and go, the unoccupied slots within a communication window can easily get fragmented to the point that a user may not be able to find the required or the optimal configuration of the slots (whether they desire contiguous or uniformly distributed slots, or otherwise) to meet their needs.